Business Highlights

minimum wage boost

WASHINGTON — In a surprise move, a House panel voted Tuesday for a hike in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25, which would be the first increase in a decade.

But the move by the Appropriations Committee, as an amendment to a bill funding health and education programs, is likely to be stripped out when the measure comes to the House floor.

That’s because the panel does not officially have jurisdiction over the issue, and Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, said he will strike the provision on the floor.

McKeon said he has no plans to move a stand-alone bill raising the minimum wage.

Seven Appropriations panel Republicans voted with Democrats to approve the wage hike on a 32-27 vote: John Sweeney and Jim Walsh of New York, Ray LaHood of Illinois, Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania, Bill Young of Florida and Mike Simpson of Idaho.

"Now we’ll see what they do with it.” said Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who sponsored the wage hike, based on a bill by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., to raise the wage in three increments over two years. "We’re going to make a very pointed issue out of this.”

When adjusted for inflation, the $5.15 per hour wage is the lowest it has been for 50 years, according to a study by Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal-leaning think tank.

"The minimum wage is lower than it has been at any time since 1956,” said Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "Congress’ refusal to raise the minimum wage shows an utter disrespect for millions of Americans who work hard every day and still struggle to meet even the most basic needs.”

But Republicans counter that raising the wage would provoke inflation and lead to job losses, especially for young people just entering the job market.

At $5.15 per hour, a worker who works 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year earns $10,712 per year.

Bernanke: Most households

managing their finances well

WASHINGTON — Most American households are doing a good job managing their finances, although lower-income families — which generally have less of a financial cushion to deal with unexpected problems — face challenges, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.

Bernanke made his observations as families are coping with higher borrowing costs and lofty energy prices. And, they must deal with an increasingly complex array of financial products that sometimes can seem bewildering when it comes to making smart financial decisions.

"U.S. households overall have been managing their personal finances well,” Bernanke said. "On average, debt burdens appear to be at manageable levels and delinquency rates on consumer loans and home mortgages have been low,” he noted.

Household net worth, which climbed to $53 trillion in the first quarter of this year, is at a fairly high level, Bernanke said.

Bernanke’s remarks came at a conference here for local elected officials, education administrators, municipal representatives and others. The conference explored a wide range of issues — from health care to voting rights.

News Corp. may link

MySpace with search engine

CHICAGO — News Corp. could let one of the larger Web search engines, like Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. or Microsoft Corp.’s MSN, take over the search function on popular social networking site MySpace.com, a News Corp. executive said Tuesday.

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media & Telecom Conference, Peter Chernin, News Corp.’s chief operating officer, said such a move would be one of the most lucrative ways to monetize Los Angeles-based MySpace, the popular online destination that News Corp. acquired last year.

Since News Corp. bought MySpace last year for $580 million, interest in the site has been high, with analysts and investors hoping it will drive growth at the company. The site has been wildly popular among younger users and has more than 75 million members. But thus far, News Corp. is still looking for ways to profit from its many users without looking "uncool.” Chernin has said he is "extremely bullish” on the company’s new media initiatives.

Chernin said Tuesday that News Corp. is "probably too late” to make a significant mark in the search arena, but plans to find "some strategic combination” of the user traffic generated by its Internet sites and its vast array of entertainment content to get the most revenue out of its Web-based properties.

MySpace is one of the most visited sites on the Internet, but the site’s search function isn’t so dominant. In April, MySpace’s search function made up 0.6 percent of all U.S. online searches, according to comScore Networks, which specializes in measurement and analysis of consumer behavior and attitudes.

Class A shares of News Corp. fell 34 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close Tuesday at $18.39 on the New York Stock Exchange. The media company is based in New York.<